Can-seaming machine



H. G. HILL.

CAN. SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1919.

1,398,018. Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET I.

/N VE N 70/? Qfy/fM H. G. HILL.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICTION FILED MAR- 5, 1919.

Patented Nov; 22, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ATTORNEYS.

H. G. HILL.

CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1.919.

1 ,398,0 1 8. v Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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H. e. HILL. CAN SEAMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED MAR. 5,1919.

1 ,398,01 8, Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF-ICE.

HUGH G. BILL, OF WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR, BY HESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO WHITAKER- GLFSSNEB COMPANY, 01 WEEELING, w' 'l' VIRGINIA.

can-snmmo imonmn Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

Application filed Kai-ch 5, 1919. Serial No. 280,889.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that HUGH G. HILL, a citizen of the United States, residin at \Varwood, lVheelin in the county of bio and State of lVest Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ca-n-Seaming Machines, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to machines for seamin can ends to can bodies, and more particu arly to machines of this kind in which the movement of the can bodies as they passthrough the machine is continuous,

The objects of the invention are to provide a machine of this kind of improved and simplitied construction in which only one set of seaming rollers or dies is necessary to seam the cans; also to provide a machine of this kind in which the seaming rollers are mounted on a member which moves with a can through a part of its passage through the seaming machine and then returns to its initial position to operate upon the next can; also to arrange two or more seaming rollers on the roller-carrying member, each of the rollers simultaneously performing different parts of the seaming operations on different cans moving through the machine; also to provide mechanism of improved construction for actuating the roller-carrying member; also to provide means of improved construction for rotating the chucks which hold the cans to be seamed; also to improve machines of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of acan seamin machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation thereof on line 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan view thereof on line 4-4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional plan view thereof on line 5-5, Fig. 3, showing the mechanism for moving the seaming devices into and out of operative relation to the cans. 1

The machine is herein described as used for seaming can ends to can bodies, but it is not intended to limit the machine to such use, since the invention may be applied A represents the base of the machine, I whlch 1n theconstruction shown, is mounted on legs a or the like and which is provided with a frame or arch member a secured to the base and extending upwardly therefrom. These parts may be of any suitable or desired construction.

The means for positioning the cans in the machine, for movin them through the machine, and for holding the same in positions to be seamed may be of anydesired construction. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, B represents the usual rotary feed or positioning device for feeding the cans to be seamed to the seaming machine, and for positioning them in their proper operative .relation to the machine. The-cans are fed from the feeding device B to a rotary table C provided with a plurality of can-supportin disks or heads a, the upper faces of whic in their can-receivin positions are substantiall in the same p ane as the upper face of t e rotary table C, and which have upright stems or pivots a suitably journaled in bearing members 0? arranged in a rotary plate or carrier 0 To facilitate the positioning of the cans on the can-supporting disks 0, stops or ockets c are preferably secured on the tab e C in operative relation to the can-supporting disks and against which the cans are placed by the positioning device 13.. Each of the lower can-supporting disks or heads 0 is arranged below and in operative relation to a corresponding positively driven upper disk or head (Z. This upper disk or head is secured on a spindle d also suitably journaled in a bearing 03 arranged in a chuck supporting plate or carrier D. Both the lower carrier 0 and the upper carrier D are secured to a central driving shaft E suitably journaled in the base A and the frame a of the machine, and the table C is rigidly secured on the lower carrier 0 by any suitable means, such as adjustable legs a. The shaft E is provided at its upper end with a bevel gear e which meshes with a gear e secured on a shaft 6 This shaft is driven by means of a gear e from a gear 6 mounted on the main drive of the machine.

shaft e of'the machine, to which power ma as a pulley e.

Each of the bearing members a is movable vertically to a limited extent relatively to the carrier plate a and is provided at its lower end with a roller 7 engaging a cam track F suitabl secured to the base he cam track F is so formed as to raise the bearings 0 and the lower can-supporting disks 0 after the cans have been placed in operative positions on the disks. This clamps the cans between the E and rotatable independently thereof. The

The roller I 18 mounted on an arm 2' pivoted at 2" on the arm H and the position of the two disks mind 03, comprising the can holdXarm a relatively to the cans is controlled ing chucks, and the cans are then rotated by contact with the rotating disks d, and at the same time the cans are carried about the axis of the shaft E from the pomt at whlch the cans are placed on the machine to a the machine.

point where the cans are discharged from The lower can-supporting disks 0 preferably have a. limited. lengthwise movement relatively to the bearing members c in addition to being rotatable therein, and

are yieldingly held in their upper positions relatively to the bearing members by means of springs 7'' arranged in the bearlng members and preming upwardly against the plungers f slidable verticallyin the bearmg members and bearing aga1nst the stem 0 of the lower can supportlng dlsks. All of these parts may be of any suitable o rdesired construction and of themselves constitute no art of this invention.

The fol owing means are preferably emgages the bevel gear 6 so that the gear G is rotated in theopposite direction from the shaft E. By means of this arrangement the stems 0r spindles d are rotated at the desired speed, owing to the rotation of the gear G and to the movement of the spindles d and the pinions 9 around the gear G in the reverse direction from the direction of rotation of the gear G. Consequently the gear need only 0 rate at one-half of the speed which woul be necessary if the stems of were fixed with regard to the frame of the machine.

The cans are fed to the machine with the ends in place thereon, and the seaming of the ends to the cans takes place after 'for the first seaming operation is secured, is

provided with suitable means by which the seammg roller I may be adjusted relatively to the cans. In the construction shown, a pin or screw 2' is secured to the arm 71 and extends through a hole in the arm 2', the dlstance between the arms a and i being regulated by means of adjusting nuts 11, or the like, which rigidly support the arm 2' at the desired distance from the-arm 2' and consequently in the desired relation to the cans. The roller I which performs the final seaming operation on the cans is mounted on an arm i which is connected to an arm 2' engaging'the cam 11, by means of a screw i secured to the arm 2' and having a nut i which limits the outward movement of the arm i from the arm i. A resilient or cushioning member 6 is preferably inserted between the arms i and i so that the finalseaming roller is yieldingl pressed against the can. The seaming ro lers I I are so placed relatively to each other as to act simultaneously on two adjacent cans. The roller I engages the cans after they have been placed on the machine and performs the preliminary seaming operation. As the cans move through the machine, the arm H is returned to a position in which the roller I engages the next can entering the machine and the roller I at the same time performs the final seaming operation on the can on which the preliminary seaming operation has just been completed by the roller I I. One or more seaming rollers or devices may be provided on the arm or member H.

The arm H may be caused to oscillate about the axis of the shaft E by any suitable means. In the construction shown in the drawings for this purpose, a star wheel K is rigidly secured to the sleeve It on which the arm H is mounted. The star wheel re- "journaled in the rotary plate or carrier 0 and which have a planetary motion about the shaft E. The shaft Z is rotated about its own axis by means of a pinion Z secured to the shaft 1 and meshing with a stationary ear Z secured on the base of the machine.

he star lock member has a substantially circular peripheral portion Z adapted to engage any one of a pluralityof similarly curved faces is formed on the star wheel, and while these two faces are in lockinlg engagement, the star wheel and the arm will rotate at the same speed and in the same direction as the plate or carrier 0 and the cans carried thereby. \Vhen these faces move out of locking engagement the actuating .arm L enters one of a plurality of radial recesses or slots 70' arranged between adjacent faces is of the star wheel and moves the star wheel and the arm H back to its initial position.

In the operation of the machine, the cans X on being fed to the machine by the positioning device B are clamped between the upper and lower can supporting disks or heads (land 0 and are carried about the axis of the shaft E. The first seaming roller I then enga es the edge of the can top and performs tie first seaming operation. When the arm H carrying the seaming rollers is moved in the reverse direction to its initial position by the star actuating device L, the first seaming roller I moves into engagement with a new can which has just been fed to the machine and the second seaming roller I engages the can on which the first seaming operation has been performed by the roller I. The roller I completes the operation of seaming the top on the can and is then returned to its starting position to effect the final seaming of the next can. The cans after having been seamed by the roller 1 are discharged from the machine by any suitable mechanism, not shown.

The machine described has the advantage of being simple in construction, owing to the fact that only one pair of seaming rollers is necessary to effect the seaming of the cans and that one actuating mechanism serves to control the operation of both seaming rollers. The mechanism described may be used for seaming either of the two ends of the can body, but is particularly desirable V for seaming can tops on cans which have been filled since the continuous movement of the cans through the machine avoids spilling of the contents of the cans. Two seaming rollers are shown in the construction illustrated, but the machine could be equipped with one or any desired number of rollers.

I elaim'as my invention:

1. The combination of a rotary carrier for articles to be operated upon, an oscillator member movable with said carrier, a plura ity of devices on said member adapted to operate on said articles to close the same, each of said devices operating on different articles while said member moves with said carrier, one of said devices performing a preliminary closing operation on an article while the other device performs a second closing operation on an article on which the preliminary operation has been performed, and means for moving said member in the reverse direction to move said devices into operative relation to other articles.

2. The combination of a rotary carrier for articles to be operated upon, an oscillatory member movable with said carrier, a plurality of devices on said member adapted to operate on said articles to close the same, each of said devices operating on different articles while said member moves with said carrier, one of said devices performing a preliminary closing operation on an article while the other device performs a second closing operation on an article on which the preliminary closing operation has been performed, means for moving said member in the reverse direction to move said devices into operative relation to other articles, and a stationary cam engaged by said devices for moving said devices into operative relation to said articles.

3. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier for moving the cans continuously through the machine, a member movable with said carrier during a part of the movement of said member, preliminary and final seamin de ices on said member which are adapte to engage adjacent cans when said member moves with said carrier, and means for moving said member to its initial position to cause said preliminary seaming device to act on another can and to cause said final seaming device to act on the can which has been acted upon by said preliminary seaming device.

4. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a carrier for the cans, a seaming device, and means for imparting an oscillatory movement to said seaming device including a star wheel connected with said seaming device, and planetary star lock and actuating members movable with said carrier and actuating said star wheel to give the same an oscillatory movement during a part of which movement said seaming device moves with a can to effect the seaming thereof and during another part of which movement said seaming device moves into operative relation to another can.

5. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a carrier for the cans, a seaming device, and means for imparting an oscillatory movement to said seaming device, in-

eluding a star wheel connected with said seaming device, planetary star lock and actuating members pivotally mounted on said carrier and actuating said star wheel to give the same an oscillatory movement, and a fixed gear turning said lock and actuating members about their own pivot, said membefs giving said star wheel and seaming device an oscillatory movement during a part of which movement said seaming device moves with a can to effect the seaming thereof and during another part of which movement said seaming device moves into operative relation to another cans 6. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier, a seaming device, a star wheel secured to said seaming device pivoted concentrically with said carrier,-and a planetary member mounted on said carrier and including a star lock member adapted to engage said star wheel to cause the same to move with said carrier through a part of a revolution and an actuating member for causing said star wheel to be rotated in the reverse direction.

In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier, a seaming device, :1 Geneva movement comprising a star wheel rigidly connected withsaid seamin device and a star lock and actuating member, and means for giving said star lock and actuating member a planetary motion about said star wheel whereby said star wheel receives an oscillatory movement.

8. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier, a seaming device, :1 Geneva movement comprising a star wheel rigidly connected with said seaming device and a star lock and actuating member, means for moving said member about said star wheel, and means for rotating said member about its own axis in the same direction as the direction of rotation of said member about the axis of said star wheel, whereby said star wheel receives an oscillatory motion. ,Y

9. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier, a seaming device, a Geneva movement comprising a star wheel rigidly connected with said seaming device and a star lock and actuating member, said star wheel being rotatable about the axis of said carrier and said star lock and actuating member being eccentrically and rotatably mounted on said carrier and rotatable ther with, and means for rotating said star lock and actuating member about its own axis to give said star wheel an oscillatory motion.

10. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier, a seaming device, a star wheel secured to said seaming device pivoted concentrically with said carrier, a star lock and actuating member rotatably mounted on said carrier, and a fixed gear for causing said star lock and actuating star lock and member to rotate about its own axis, said actuating member giving said star wheel an oscillatory motion.

11. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary carrier, a seaming device, a star wheel secured to said seaming device pivoted concentrically with said carrier, a planetary member pivoted on said carrier in operative relation to said star wheel, said planetary member including a star lock and a star actuating device, and a fixed gear with which said planetary member engages and which causes the same to rotate about its axis, said lock and actuating member causing said star Wheel to move with said carrier during one part of the movement of said star wheel and to cause the star wheel. to move to another position relatively to said carrier during another part of the movement of said star Wheel.

12. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a rotary can carrier, :1 seaming device, a Geneva movement including a star wheel secured to said seaming device and rotatable concentrically with said carrier, and a star lock and mounted on said carrier at a distance from the axis of rotation of the carrier, and means for rotating said star lock and actuating member about its own axis, said star lock and actuating member causing said star wheel to alternately move with said carrier and then to move back to its initial position.

13. In a container closing machine, the combination of a continuously moving carrier for containers, a single set of closing devices each of which is adapted to perform a different part of the closing operation and which operate substantially simultaneously on different containers, means for moving said closing devices into operative relation to different containers While the containers are moving continuously through the machine, and a stationary cam having faces corresponding to each of said closing devices for actuating the same.

14:. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a continuously moving carrier for cans, a single set of can seaming rollers each of which is adapted to perform different parts of the seaming operation and which operate substantially simultaneously on different cans, means for moving each roller successively into operative relation to each can While the cans are moving continuously through the machine, arms on Which said rollers are mounted, and a stationary cam relatively to which said arms move and which actuates said arms to place the rollers into operative relation to the cans.

15. In a can seaming machine, the combination of a carrier for moving the cans continuously through the machine, a member movable with said carrier during a part of the movement of said member, preliminary actuating member and final seaming devices on said member which are adapted to engage adjacent cans when said member moves With said carrier, means for moving said member to its initial position to cause said preliminary seaming device to act on another can and to cause said final seaming device to act on the can which has been acted upon by said preliminary seaming device, and a single cam having two faces adapted to actuate said preliminary and final seaming devices to efi'ect the seaming of the cans after the seaming devices have been placed into operative relation to the cans.

16. In a container closing machine, the combination of a rotary carrier for the containers, an oscillatory member having a movement in one direction with said carrier and in another direction to its initial position, and a plurality of closing devices on said memberwhich effect the closing of the container when said member moves with said carrier, and which move intooperative relation to other containers when said member movesto its initial position, each of said closing devices performing a different operation on the containers, and a stationary cam which actuates said closing devices to move the same into operative relation to the containers.

Witness my hand this 27th day of F ebruary, 1919.

HUGH G. HILL. Witnesses:

T. E, BROSHAW, WALTER Homme, 

